I Spy a Harried Housewife

When a first grade boy brings home an assignment to find 100 themed items and glue/paste them to a legal size sheet of construction paper, who does the teacher honestly believe is doing it? Especially when during the parent/teacher conference some concern was voiced over that same kid's lack of mastery over the scissors. (As my boss quipped, "Why do they stress? I've never known anyone to graduate from high school who hadn't yet learned how to cut with scissors.")

I spent the better part of Saturday with son #2 surrounded by copies of Saveur and Natural Health magazines cutting out pictures of roast turkeys, pies, bon bons, apples, shish kabobs, organic grains, wax lips and so on.

We then had to write three, four-line "I spy" rhymes to share with the class so they could find some of the skillfully hidden cut-out items.

I spy a mom and son
sitting on the floor
cutting pics all afternoon
until their hands were sore

All complaining aside, I think I would make a pretty good first grader. Especially if I could hang out with my little monkey all day long.